1. Field of Art
The disclosure generally relates to the field of cutting cheese curd.
2. Description of the Related Art
A curd cutting step in the cheese making process is commonplace. Since coagulated milk has a tendency to contract and expel water and whey, it is desirable to cut the coagulated milk curd into smaller pieces, increasing the surface area of the curd and allowing it to expel water and whey more effectively. One method of cutting cheese curd is to use a knife. Any food grade knife such as a bread knife, cake knife, etc. may be used to manually slice the curd in various different shapes. However, such a process of cutting cheese curd takes a long time. For example, a common method of cutting cheese curd with a knife requires a series of first cuts along the length of a vat or a container, a series of second cuts, perpendicular to the first cuts, a series of third cuts at another angle from the first cut and a series of fourth cuts around the edge of the vat to detach curd from the vat walls. Additionally, the resulting cheese curds may be of varying sizes based on human error in making uniform cuts. The resulting curds also may also be of a varying consistency, for example, applying too much downward pressure with a knife may cause the curd mass to be compressed and/or to tear resulting in pieces of varying consistency across the curd mass. Curds of varying sizes or consistency may result in cheese with undesirable texture, flavor or butter fat content.
Another method and apparatus for cutting cheese curd is to use wire knives comprising at least one cutting frame. The cutting frame has at least two opposite frame parts between which cutting wire sections extend in one or more directions. For example, a cutting frame may comprise wires extending longitudinally and transversely in a grid-like pattern. In a manual operation, such frames may be inserted into the cheese vat and operated along one direction, forming rectangular strips of cheese curd. To achieve smaller pieces of cheese curd, the cutting frame may be operated a second time in a different direction. Such a method and apparatus provides a more uniform cut of cheese curds when compared to using a knife. It is noted that such a wire frame cutting apparatus may be mechanically actuated by attaching the wire cutting frames on a mechanically drivable shaft.
Wire frame apparatuses cuts cheese curds faster and in a more uniform manner than using an unguided knife. However, there are several issues associated with using manually operated and mechanically mounted wire knives. For example, once the cutting frame is operated in a first direction, the cheese curds shift and rearrange to occupy the space created by the operation of the wire knife. Thus, when the cutting frame is operated in a second direction, it leads to an uneven cut, wherein the size of each resultant piece of the cheese curd is dependent on how much and where each cheese curd piece has shifted after the first cut. Additionally, such movement makes the task of the cheese maker much more difficult as more effort is required to pass the cheese cutting frame through the entire mass of cheese. Another problem with the operation of wire knives is that when the frame is first inserted in the cheese curd vat, it breaks the cheese curds because of additional pressure applied to insert the cutting frame. Thus, manually operated and mechanically mounted wire knives also results in cheese curds of varying, inconsistent sizes, causing uneven moisture and whey egress, ultimately resulting in cheese of undesirable consistency, flavor or butter fat content.